What is Autophagy?
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer.
“Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.”
It’s also referred to as “self-devouring.” While that may sound like something you never want to happen to your body, it’s actually beneficial to your overall health. This is because autophagy is an evolutionary self-preservation mechanism through which the body can remove the dysfunctional cells and recycle parts of them toward cellular repair and cleaning.
What are the benefits of autophagy?
The main benefits of autophagy seem to come in the form of anti-aging principles. In fact, Petre says it’s best known as the body’s way of turning the clock back and creating younger cells.
Khorana points out that when our cells are stressed, autophagy is increased in order to protect us, which helps enhance your lifespan.
At the cellular level, the benefits of autophagy include:
- removing toxic proteins from the cells that are attributed to neurodegenerative diseases, such Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease
- recycling residual proteins
- providing energy and building blocks for cells that could still benefit from repair
- on a larger scale, it prompts regeneration and healthy cells
Diet changes that can boost autophagy
Fasting is [the] most effective way to trigger autophagy”
Ketosis, a diet high in fat and low in carbs brings the same benefits of fasting without fasting, like a shortcut to induce the same beneficial metabolic changes. By not overwhelming the body with an external load, it gives the body a break to focus on its own health and repair.
In the keto diet, you get about 75 percent of your daily calories from fat, and 5 to 10 percent of your calories from carbs.
This shift in calorie sources causes your body to shift its metabolic pathways. It will begin to use fat for fuel instead of the glucose that’s derived from carbohydrates.
In response to this restriction, your body will begin to start producing ketone bodies that have many protective effects. Khorana says studies suggest that ketosis can also cause starvation-induced autophagy, which has neuroprotective functions. Low glucose levels occur in both diets and are linked to low insulin and high glucagon levels.
When the body is low on sugar through fasting or ketosis, it brings the positive stress that wakes up the survival repairing mode.
Conclusion
Autophagy will continue to gain attention as researchers conduct more studies on the impact it has on our health.
For now, nutritional and health experts such as Khorana point to the fact that there’s still much we need to learn about autophagy and how to best encourage it.
But if you’re interested in trying to stimulate autophagy in your body, she recommends starting by adding fasting and regular exercise into your routine.
However, you need to consult your doctor if you’re taking any medications, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or wish to become pregnant, or have a chronic condition, such as heart disease or diabetes.
Khorana cautions that you’re not encouraged to fast if you fall into any of the above categories.
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